You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
This was close to a 4, but I gave it a 3 just because it took so long to get in to. The writing was really hard at the beginning.
R.J. Ellory wears his influences on his sleeve, and that's a good thing. In this book, I saw Truman Capote, Harper Lee, William Faulkner, Ferrol Sams, Stephen King, and all those influences work together... not exactly in harmony, but definitely towards something exciting, and well pulled-off, and very American.
Which is odd, because Ellory is British, which I didn't know until I finished the book. That was almost as big a surprise as the twist at the end.
Also, I have a hard time coming up with a protagonist in fiction who has a worse life, or suffers more than poor Joseph Vaughan.
Which is odd, because Ellory is British, which I didn't know until I finished the book. That was almost as big a surprise as the twist at the end.
Also, I have a hard time coming up with a protagonist in fiction who has a worse life, or suffers more than poor Joseph Vaughan.
Warning: Contains spoilers! If you're looking for an uplifting book, this isn't it. This book reminds me of those times in life when you are plagued by one after another of bad happenings. Not first world disappointments, but deaths, miscarriages, cancer, fires. You just get on your feet again, and something else rocks your world. By the end of this book, you're so demoralized, you almost detach from the main character so that you won't care anymore when something horrible happens to him. By the time the 2nd pregnant love of his life dies, it feels like the book has jumped the shark too. When a book is too depressing for me, you know it's over the top. Whenever things were going right for Joseph, the other shoe was about to drop. I did like the ending though:)
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Murder
Het boek begint in 1939 in Augusta Falls, een klein stadje in de Amerikaanse staat Georgia. De 12-jarige Joseph Vaugh hoort dat een klasgenootje is vermoord. Dit meisje is de eerste in een lange reeks meisjes die in de komende twintig jaar vermoord worden. Joseph wil hier iets tegen doen en samen met zijn vrienden richt hij een club op om te proberen om de meisjes te redden uit handen van de moordenaar. Hij heeft er vijftig jaar voor nodig om uiteindelijk de moordenaar te ontmaskeren. In die vijftig jaar gebeurt er ontzettend veel in het leven van Joseph. Hij besluit Augusta Falls te verlaten en in New York een nieuw bestaan op te bouwen. Ook hier wordt hij achtervolgd door de gebeurtenissen in Augusta Falls.
De eerste helft van het verhaal is spannend. Hier worden de moorden gepleegd. Ook de globale lijn zorgt ervoor dat je toch door wilt blijven lezen om te weten wie dan toch die moorden op zijn geweten heeft. Dit blijft ook tot het laatste hoofdstuk geheim. Maar het tussenstuk tussen het begin en het eind is wel om door heen te worstelen. Zodra Joseph naar New York vertrekt, zakt het verhaal een beetje in en moet je moeite doen om er een beetje bij te blijven. Er wordt teveel op dingen in gegaan, waardoor het te langdradig wordt.
De eerste helft van het verhaal is spannend. Hier worden de moorden gepleegd. Ook de globale lijn zorgt ervoor dat je toch door wilt blijven lezen om te weten wie dan toch die moorden op zijn geweten heeft. Dit blijft ook tot het laatste hoofdstuk geheim. Maar het tussenstuk tussen het begin en het eind is wel om door heen te worstelen. Zodra Joseph naar New York vertrekt, zakt het verhaal een beetje in en moet je moeite doen om er een beetje bij te blijven. Er wordt teveel op dingen in gegaan, waardoor het te langdradig wordt.
Je ne reprocherais rien à la qualité de l'écriture qui a le mérité d'être originale, mais nomdunepipe, je ne suis JAMAIS rentrée dedans...T-T
Beautifully told story, rich in period narrative voice and character development, it's slightly over-long and doesn't quite bear the weight of the themes the author wants us to engage with. A couple of plot holes detract from an otherwise fine literary crime story.
This is the type of book that you wonder just how did the author do it? Did Ellory simply write out the book and then go back and repeat ever line in the book over and over again until he came up with lines that read like poetry? Did he repeat it over and over like a chant until a bit of magic occurred? "the silence roars at me, both within and without"..."I almost slipped from my skin"....there are many more treasures to be savored within this book...you really should go and get your own copy to enjoy...so many more lines that you should not only read, but also rejoice in their beauty. No it is not a happy book, but it is a beautiful one. This is part of what makes it even more amazing...that such beauty can be found among so much evil....
Its definetly worth the read but I wouldn't categorise it as a thiller, as it seems to have been.
I found it dragged in parts and towards the end I wondered if it was ever going to end. It could have been shortened and I don't believe the blurb gives an accurate depiction of the story. I don't fully understand the emphasis the author puts on the role of 'The Guardians'. In my opinion it just seems that they were skimmed over and then kept being brought back as to having some greater significance than they actually did.
I feel the story could have been made more interesting if the author had gone into the reasons why the murderer did what he did. Plus without any real investigation work made by Vaughan into who the murderer was and then his seemingly sudden conclusion as to who it was at the end makes it all seem a little unprobable that the Dearing could have gone on such a long murder spree without anyone suspecting him. Also I would have liked it if he gone into more detail about Vaughan's life in New York and his relationship with Bridget. I felt that she was the least developed character for playing such a pivotal role in the story.
But despite these downfalls I still found myself un-able to put it down. It's beautifully written and has likeable, realistic, three-dimensional characters.
I found it dragged in parts and towards the end I wondered if it was ever going to end. It could have been shortened and I don't believe the blurb gives an accurate depiction of the story. I don't fully understand the emphasis the author puts on the role of 'The Guardians'. In my opinion it just seems that they were skimmed over and then kept being brought back as to having some greater significance than they actually did.
I feel the story could have been made more interesting if the author had gone into the reasons why the murderer did what he did. Plus without any real investigation work made by Vaughan into who the murderer was and then his seemingly sudden conclusion as to who it was at the end makes it all seem a little unprobable that the Dearing could have gone on such a long murder spree without anyone suspecting him. Also I would have liked it if he gone into more detail about Vaughan's life in New York and his relationship with Bridget. I felt that she was the least developed character for playing such a pivotal role in the story.
But despite these downfalls I still found myself un-able to put it down. It's beautifully written and has likeable, realistic, three-dimensional characters.